Nairobi Aug 17 (IANS) Defending Chicago Marathon champions Abel Kirui and Florence Kiplagat of Kenya are plotting to run a fast time in this year s event which will be held on October 8.
Alongside the two champions organisers have also lined up world record-holder Dennis Kimetto of Kenya half marathon world record-holder Zersenay Tadese and three-time Olympic gold medallist Tirunesh Dibaba reports Xinhua news agency.
"I want to improve my personal best and Chicago fast course could give me just that. The competition I have is strong and it will spur me forward to run faster " Kirui said on Thursday from Eldoret.
Last year it boiled down to tactics as Kirui held off compatriot Dickson Chumba to win by three seconds in 2:11:23.
The two-time world champion has a personal best of 2:05:04 and finished fourth at this year s London Marathon in 2:07:45 his fastest time since winning the second of his world titles in 2011.
Kimetto returns to Chicago for the first time since setting a course record of 2:03:45 in 2013.
Prior to that he ran the fastest marathon debut in history in Berlin in 2012 (2:04:16) and in 2014 he became the first athlete in history to cover the marathon within 2:03 clocking a world record of 2:02:57 in Berlin.
An ankle and knee injury sustained in training early this year forced Kimetto out of Boston marathon and the 35-year-old will be keen to improve his fitness in Chicago.
Tadese a six-time world champion on the roads and cross-country has only finished three marathons.
While his official personal best is 2:10:41 the 2004 Olympic 10 000 metre bronze medallist ran 2:06:51 in the marathon so will be looking to replicate that kind of form in Chicago.
Kenya s Stephen Sambu made his marathon debut in Chicago in 2016 finishing fifth in 2:13:35. With Personal Best s (PB) of 26:54.61 for 10 000 metre and 1:00:41 for the half marathon it would appear the 29-year-old is capable of significantly improving his marathon PB.
Japanese quartet Kohei Mastsumura Yuki Takamiya Chihiro Miyawaki and Ryoichi Matsuo add further strength to this year s field.
Matsumara is the fastest of the four having set a PB of 2:08:09 at the 2014 Tokyo Marathon. Kiplagat returns to chase her third title in a row and her fourth podium finish.
The 2010 world half marathon champion has a marathon PB of 2:19:44 and held the half marathon world record until earlier this year.
Dibaba started 2017 by becoming the third-fastest woman of all time when she finished second in London in 2:17:56. Dibaba is a three-time Olympic gold medallist a five-time world champion on the track and a four-time winner of senior titles at the World Cross.
She made her marathon debut in 2014 with a third-place finish in London in 2:20:35. More recently she took the silver medal in the 10 000 metre at the IAAF World Championships London 2017.
Valentine Kipketer returns to Chicago after finishing third last year in 2:23:41. The Kenyan finished sixth at this year s Boston Marathon.
--IANS
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